JOHN H. AMHERST. Autograph Letter Signed (in third person). No place or date [London, ca. 1824].  1pg. + stampless address leaf. To Joseph Glossop [Royal Coburg Theater].

“Mr. Amherst with all proper respect informs Mr. Glossop that the 3^rd Voyage…was compleat yesterday morning – Mr. A will be at home until 1 O’clock when he has to visit D L T [Drury Lane Theater] as Mr. Elliston has accepted two pieces and wishes to treat for price. Mr. A is very anxious to have Mr. G’s opinion of this 3^rd and to proceed instantly to the fourth voyage. This is written in the event of Mr. G’s not being [risen?]…”

Glossop was the wealthy former manager of La Scala and first manager of the Royal Coburg Theater, which opened in 1818, and in 1833 was renamed the Royal Victoria (“Old Vic”). Also mentions Robert Elliston, the controversial manager of the Drury Lane Theater in the 1820s, who was accused of “corrupting public tastes”.

Amherst  (1776-1851) had many plays to his credit, including, in 1824, his adaptation of the Battle of Waterloo, an “equestrian spectacle, featuring ‘cavalry advances, bugle calls and cannon fire’” which became one of the frequently performed shows of the day.

There are several Amherst letters held by the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.,  and one of his manuscripts at the Huntington Library in California.